GB1573723A - Electromagnetic relays - Google Patents

Description

PATENT SPECIFICATION

Application No 18791/77 ( 22) Filed 5 May Convention Application No 2629052 ( 32) Fi Fed Rep of Germany (DE) Complete Specification Published 28 Aug 1980

INT CL 3 H 01 H 51/06 1977 led 29 Jun.

( 52) Index at Acceptance H 1 N 301 355 357 367 38 Y 657 707 744 ( 11) 1 573 723 ( 19) N e,, ( 54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAYS ( 71) We, SIEMENS AG, a German Company, of Berlin and Munich, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:-

The present invention relates to electromagnetic relays Relays are known in which, when energised, an armature is attracted by a pole plate, whilst being simultaneously repelled by a magnetic yoke so that it pivots about a bearing component, and wherein parts of the ferromagnetic circuit are employed as current supply paths to the winding These relays have hitherto been used in large numbers in multiple strips for the construction of switching networks In this application, a particularly economical production method was discovered, which permitted a fully automatic production of such strips, (each comprising five multi-contact relays on a common carrier body), by applying coils and inserting punched components into prepared guides A disadvantage of this method was found to consist in that the coils used had to be self-supporting so that they could be positioned, one next to another, at their assigned position on coil shafts This was necessary in view of the extremely constricted, hence space-saving, construction of a strip comprising 5 multicontact relays It has now become desirable to produce individual relays of this type of construction, in particular for use on printed or similar circuit boards.

According to the invention, there is provided an electromagnetic relay comprising:

an insulating coil former carrying a winding; a ferromagnetic circuit including an armature and a magnetic yoke; and a nonmagnetic, insulating hollow member which is mounted on a part of said former by interlocking therewith, which member accommodates in its interior components of said ferromagnetic circuit, and is provided internally with guides receiving said components, so that said ferromagnetic circuit passes through said hollow member.

Preferably, said member is elongate and extends generally parallel to the winding axis of said former.

Preferably, said former has a flange at each end, the flanges extending to one side of the winding axis and supporting therebetween said member.

Preferably, each flange has a respective opening in which said member engages.

Preferably, said interlocking is such that the former and said hollow member can engage in only one relative position.

Preferably, said guides are such as to be able to receive said components in only one relative position Said inter-locking may be by push fit Said inter-locking may be by snap fit.

Preferably, said former is hollow and accommodates further components of said ferromagnetic circuit therein.

Expediently, the respective interiors of said member and said former are each provided with longitudinally extending guides to receive said components Said components are preferably laminar.

Preferably, said longitudinally extending guides comprise recesses or ribs which enter into locking connection with resilient attachments of ones of the ferromagnetic circuit components.

In one embodiment of the invention, said flanges support therebetween two said members arranged next to one another at one side of said axis.

In a further embodiment of the invention, said flanges extend to two sides of said axis and support therebetween two said members respectively on mutually opposite sides of said axis.

In a further embodiment of the invention, ( 21) ( 31) ( 33) ( 44) ( 51) m ell t_ m tl_ tn r1 573 723 said flanges extend to two sides of said axis and support therebetween on each side of said axis two said members arranged next to one another on each said side.

Ones of said components may form current supply paths for said winding.

Said ones of said components may be provided with soldering lugs extending to knife-like free ends.

Said knife-like free ends may be formed by punched components which are each connected at one end to a respective one of the soldering lugs and supported near the other, free, end by a respective guide forming part of one of the coil flanges.

A relay may be constructed according to the invention and being such that, when said winding is energised, said armature is attracted by a pole plate and simultaneously repelled by said yoke.

Said member and said coil body may be of synthetic resin material.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic exploded view of two parts of an electromagnetic relay according to the invention; Figures 2 and 3 show schematically two views of a four-contact relay according to the invention; Figures 4 and 5 show schematically two views of a further four-contact relay according to the invention; and Figures 6 and 7 illustrate schematically components of a relay according to the invention.

The right-hand part of Figure 1 shows a coil body which is provided at both ends of its central component 1 with respective flanges 2 and 3 The central component is approximately square in cross-section and has relatively thin walls It forms a hollow shaft 4 for the accommodation of plug-in components The internal surface of shaft 4 is provided with guides in the form of ribs and grooves for the support of the plug-in components In portions of flanges 2 and 3 extending laterally of shaft 4, are provided openings 5 and 6 for accommodating a plug-in hollow member 7 (left-hand part of Figure 1) Opening 5 is of square shape, and corresponds to the cross-section of member 7 Opening 6 is provided with projections and recesses, and in this way prevents mis-insertion of member 7 The latter is generally rectangular in cross-section and has relatively thin walls Its interior is provided with guides in the form of grooves and ribs for supporting components to be plugged in in the same way as the shaft 4 in the coil body Recesses 8 and 9 in flange 2 serve to allow wire to be introduced during automatic winding, and also serve to support soldering lugs for the winding ends.

The illustrated coil body can be equipped with soldering lugs and provided with a plurality of windings in a fully automatic winding process The connections between the ends of the winding or windings and the soldering lugs can also be established automatically In one automated production process, the ready-wound coil body 1 is provided with the member 7 in one step of production and the other components are introduced automatically in further production steps.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a relay which has been produced in this way, and whose coil body 10 is equipped with two plug-in hollow members 11 arranged next to one another at one side of the relay Consequently the coil body corresponding to Figure 2 possesses wider flanges than those of Figure 1 In each flange two openings such as 5 and 6, are arranged next to one another on the same side of the coil body Naturally, a single separately produced plug-in component having two hollow shafts therein could also be used and accommodated in a single opening in each of the flanges Components provided with soldering lugs 12 are inserted in shafts 11 The electric terminals of the lugs 12 lead out towards the right in Figure 2 via punched components 13 Each of the soldering lugs 12 has a V-shaped cut-out portion 14 which permits auotmatic insertion and clamping of the free ends of components 13, so that these can be held in position for a common dip soldering process The other ends 15 of components 13 are of knife-like formation, and serve to connect the relay to a circuit board 16, as shown in Figure 2, by insertion into corresponding bores They can be secured and electrically connected to this circuit board by a common soldering process, for example, in a surge soldering bath Between the ends 15 and the soldering lugs 12, components 13 are supported in recesses 17 of the coil body 10, so that ends 15 are provided with sufficient stability to allow mounting on circuit boards or plug-in connections.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a further construction of a relay, which is a four-contact relay In this embodiment, coil body 18 and plug-in hollow member 19 correspond to coil body 1 and member 7 of Figure 1 It will be apparent that a four-contact relay can be constructed from two two-contact relays arranged opposite one another The coil body 18, illustrated therein, is a homologous duplication of coil body 1 of Figure 1, and on each of its two sides is provided with a respective plug-in member 19.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate components required to complete the relay Figure 6 shows an armature stop 21, whose upper 1 573 723 end is supported in the coil body by latches 22 The adjoining, generally L-shaped component 23 forms a counter-contact for the armature, and at its two, slotted, angled portions 24 and 25 is provided by welding with contact wires 26, which together with a contact wire 30 (in Figure 7), form two clearly defined contact points The downwardly projecting, knife-like ends 27 of the components in Figures 6 and 7 represent terminals of the individual components and are also illustrated in Figures 4, and 5.

These ends serve for installation on a printed circuit board 16, which again is illustrated schematically-in Figures 4 By a common soldering process, these ends 27 mechanically and electrically connect the relay to the circuit board 16.

Figure 7 illustrates two generally Ushaped components shown in superimposed alignment The lower component is a pole plate 28, which consists of magnetically soft iron and is insulated all round The upper component is an armature 29 having a welded-on contact wire 30, which, together with the contact wires 26 of Figure 6, forms a double contact set The armature is welded to an L-shaped spring plate 31, which serves to fix its position and to support the soldering lugs 27 On the opposite side, the pole plate 28 is equipped with a homologous component arrangement, i e has two contact sets.

The arrangement illustrated in Figure 4 could readily be extended in accordance with Figure 2, i e two such double-contact arrangements could be provided on respective sides of the relay, thus forming an eight-contact relay.

The ferromagnetic circuits of known relays of this type are formed from generally U or L-shaped components, which, overlapping one another, are inserted from different sides into two recesses of a body of synthetic resin material The described relays have the advantage that the feature of one side of the coil former being covered by the plug-in member is avoided This occurred in previous relays, and thus prevented the coil from being freely wound by an automatic winding machine For the winding process, the coil former takes the form of a known coil former comprising two flanges and a component connecting the two flanges.

When the flanges are shaped in a suitable fashion, it can be provided, in known manner, with a number of soldering lugs corresponding to the number of winding ends, and can be automatically wound, again in known manner, in the desired fashion on a winding machine A further production step, which is necessary for the use of the known components, is carried out following the winding process, by inserting the plug-in member parallel to the winding axis, and then inserting the ferromagnetic circuit components into the plug-in member.

The plug-in member may be supported in widened portions of the coil flanges, by which it is at least partially embraced This arrangement advantageously permits a parallel arrangement of the plug-in member and the coil axis to be produced, thus obviating the need for additional production processes or connecting components In this case it is expedient for the plug-in member and the guides to be designed in such manner that they can be inserted in only one orientation, i e their inserted position is defined by their shape It is important to ensure correct insertion of the additional components in view of the requisite positional accuracy of the individual parts of such a relay In view of these accuracy requirements, it is also advantageous for coil formers and plug-in member to be provided with guides for receiving a plurality of laminar ferromagnetic circuit components It is, in fact, possible to arrange square or rectangular sectioned guides within the coil former and the plug-in member, and to insert the individual components therein, with interposed insulating components The provision of these guides, which can be produced with high accuracy by injection moulding, advantageously permits uncomplicated insertion of the ferromagnetic circuit components and their laminar attachments in the correct position These measures can also be readily carried out auotmatically Expediently, recesses or ribs forming part of the guides can enter into lock connections with flexible attachments of the ferromagnetic circuit components.

It is also possible to provide the flanges with widened portions to accommodate two plug-in members arranged next to one another (Figures 2 and 3) In this case the coil shaft is, of course, also widened, and as a result the winding space of the coil is modified A relay of this type can simultaneously actuate four contact sets, in which case it is preferably constructed in such a way that the terminals of all the contacts of the relay lie as close as possible to one another.

Widened portions of the flanges may also accommodate two plug-in members arranged on opposite sides of the winding axis (Figures 4 and 5) This relay, whose contact terminals for the four contact sets are arranged at considerable distances from one another, is able to fulfill the same functions as the relay mentioned above.

This different geometric arrangement, may be occasionally required on circuit boards.

Of course, it is also possible for widened portions of the flanges at two opposite sides of the winding axis to each accommodate 1 573 723 two plug-in members arranged next to one another This relay, which is able simultaneously to actuate eight contact sets, need only have one coil former, whereas the other components, such as plug-in members and ferromagnetic circuit components, can be used in the same way as in the relay already mentioned.

On one side of the relay, the ferromagnetic circuit components are provided with soldering lugs Figures 2, 3, 6, and 7.

Expediently, the soldering lugs are provided with knife-like metal ends 15, and 27 arranged in a grid pattern These metal ends serve for installation on a mechanically produced wiring carrier, on which the individual terminal points are arranged in a specific grid pattern, and can be used as leads and soldering terminals in bores, or in the case of a suitable design, in plug-in sockets These knife-like metal ends can be in the form of punched components 13 (Figure 2), which at one end are connected to the soldering lugs, and which in the region directly in front of their free ends 15 are held in guides 17 of the coil flanges.

Components designed in this way can be used to establish uninsulated connections over relatively long distances, since on both sides, the relatively rigid connecting elements 13 are secured firstly at the end with the soldering lugs, and secondly in the region of the guide Furthermore, directly adjacent the free end, the guides 17 serve to ensure that an accurate grid dimensioning is adhered to, and that the knife-like ends 15 remain relatively stiff for insertion into position.

Although the illustrated embodiments each have the plug-in member or members engaging at each end with a respective flange of the coil former, it will be apparent that this feature is not essential, (although preferred), since alternative interlocking methods may be adopted.

Claims (21)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1 An electromagnetic relay comprising:

an insulating coil former carrying a winding; a ferromagnetic circuit including an armature and a magnetic yoke; and a nonmagnetic insulating hollow member which is mounted on a part of said former by interlocking therewith, which member accommodates in its interior components of said ferromagnetic circuit, and is provided internally with guides receiving said components, so that said ferromagnetic circuit passes through said hollow member.

2 A relay according to Claim 1 wherein said member is elongate and extends generally parallel to the winding axis of said former.

3 A relay according to Claim 2 wherein said former has a flange at each end, the flanges extending to one side of the winding axis and supporting therebetween said member.

4 A relay according to Claim 3 wherein each flange has a respective opening in which said member engages.

A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims where said interlocking is such that the former and said hollow member can engage in only one relative position.

6 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said guides are such as to be able to receive said components in only one relative position.

7 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said inter-locking is by push fit.

8 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said inter-locking is by snap fit.

9 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said former is hollow and accommodates further components of said ferromagnetic circuit therein.

A relay according to Claims 2 and 9 wherein the respective interiors of said member and said former are each provided with longitudinally extending guides to receive said components.

11 A relay according to Claim 10 wherein said components are laminar.

12 A relay according to Claim 10 or 11 wherein said longitudinally extending guides comprise recesses or ribs which enter into locking connection with resilient attachments of ones of the ferromagnetic circuit components.

13 A relay according to Claim 3 or any one of Claims 4 to 12 when appended to Claim 3 wherein said flanges support therebetween two said members arranged next to one another at one side of said axis.

14 A relay according to Claim 3 or any one of Claims 4 to 12 when appended to Claim 3 wherein said flanges extend to two sides of said axis and support therebetween two said members respectively on mutually opposite sides of the said axis.

A relay according to Claim 3 or any one of Claims 4 to 12 when appended to Claim 3 wherein said flanges extend to two sides of said axis and support therebetween on each side of said axis two said members arranged next to one another on each said side.

16 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein ones of said components form current supply paths for said winding.

17 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said ones of said components are provided with soldering lugs extending to knife-like free ends.

18 A relay according to Claim 17 wherein said knife-like free ends are formed by punched components which are each connected at one end to a respective one of the soldering lugs, and supported near the other, free, end by a respective guide forming part of one of the coil flanges.

19 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein, when said winding is energised, said armature is attracted by a pole plate and simultaneously repelled by said yoke.

20 A relay according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein said member and said coil body are of synthetic resin material.

21 An electromagnetic relay substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1, 6 and 7 or to Figures 2, 3, 6 and 7 or to Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7.

For the Applicants, G F REDFERN & CO, Marlborough Lodge, 14 Farncombe Road, Worthing, BN 11 2 BT Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, by Croidon Printing Company Limited Croydon, Surrey, 1980.

Published by The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London WC 2 A IAY from which copies may be obtained.

1 573 723 s